Indiana AD Fred Glass: ‘Standing for the national anthem is not a rule’

Indiana University athletic director Fred Glass commented publicly Tuesday afternoon on the athletic department’s stance on potential protests by Hoosier student-athletes during the playing of the national anthem. An IU professor asked Glass at a Bloomington Faculty Council meeting if IU coaches had discussed the Black Lives Matter movement or recent protests, according to the Bloomington Herald-Times.

“There will be no punishment for someone doing those things,” Glass said. “We won’t deny people the right to do those things.”

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the recent trend of protests when he didn’t stand during the national anthem in an NFL preseason game. The protests have reached the college level, including a recent protest by several Nebraska football players.

But Glass made it clear that IU student-athletes will not be punished if they choose to protest.